indian press - Naxals call upon cops to join ‘struggle’

Maoists appear to have found a new recruitment pool — police officials engaged in anti-Naxal operations. In a statement released by CPI (Maoist) spokesperson Malajulla Venugopal alias Abhay, the Maoist leadership has urged policemen to quit their jobs and join the “revolution” to defeat the “sinister” and “fascist” designs of their seniors and political leaders. To drive home the point, the CPI (Maoist) has also cited incidents of “over-stressed” policemen killing their seniors and claimed that more than 1,000 security personnel have been killed in anti-Naxal operations. “Think about your background. You belong to the lower strata of the society. You cannot deny that you have come from families of poor tribals, labourers and farmers. Think about who you are serving just to feed your families. We know you are not honestly agreeing to the demands of the job and your family members not happy that you have to do this. Your senior officers, fraudulent politicians are trying to instil false patriotism in your minds by branding Maoists as a security threat. But, the fact is that the rate of quitting a police job is about one in three. You must understand the selfish motive of politicians to loot resources of the people,” Abhay said in the statement.

The statement claims several politicians from across political parties are corrupt. It also makes a mention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots. “The same Modi is now travelling around the world to sell India’s resources to foreigners in the name of Make in India. That is why leaders like Barack Obama, Stephen Harper and Angela Merkel are praising him. Your guns are actually meant to forcibly acquire farmers’ lands. Are you ready to shed your blood for these people,” Abhay said. Claiming that over 50,000 police personnel engaged in anti-insurgency operations had quit their jobs, Abhay said, “Consider why some of you are committing suicide or killing your officers. Are you being treated fairly by your superiors? Many media reports have exposed the tragic realities of your tension-filled lives. Stop staying away from your near and dear ones. You should join the struggle waged by poor farmers, workers, women and other affected sections… Don’t fall prey to the sinister designs of Narendra Modi, Mohan Bhagwat and Amit Shah… Operation Green Hunt is designed to loot people’s resources.”